#120

“Why are you agreeing so readily? What if I have some strange motive?”

I said it out of genuine concern, but Nasir let out a short laugh, as if he had just heard a pointless joke.

“Then that would be even better.”

‘…What would be?’

The fact that I have a suspicious motive?

‘Right, from a Heretic Inquisitor’s perspective, that would be a performance bonus rolling right into his lap.’

I was essentially no different from a voice phisher who had called the police themselves.

‘There’s no way a guy with no connections to the Capital Church could prepare some grand trap….’

From Nasir’s point of view, there was no reason to be wary of me.

The Inquisitor is the one who has to storm into the headquarters of armed heretics; what could possibly be scary within the Capital Church?

“So, in what form should I stay by your side?”

“What do you mean, in what form?”

“By overlaying an illusion, I can change my appearance as I wish. Of course, you won’t feel any difference, Fabio.”

“…Can you use that ability to pretend to be someone else?”

“That is difficult. Impersonating someone who has received the Baptism of Order is strictly forbidden.”

‘Does that mean it’s okay to impersonate someone who doesn’t belong to Order?’

“However, it is fine to take a form that is similar enough to cause a momentary misunderstanding. Is there someone specific you want by your side?”

‘…Is an Inquisitor allowed to make a proposal like that?’

No matter how I thought about it, that sounded like an ability meant for scams.

Did he think a goblin would come up with some wicked plan the moment he heard it?

“There’s no need for you to look like anyone else. The one I want is Nasir.”

Nasir’s swaying tail stopped abruptly.

“That means….”

“Any reason will do. I would like you, Nasir, as a Heretic Inquisitor, to keep an eye on me.”

“…Keep an eye on you?”

“Yes. If a Heretic Inquisitor is by my side, evil beings won’t be able to approach me recklessly.”

Nasir’s expression stiffened.

“Is there a being that intends to harm you? Here, in the Capital Church?”

“…As I said, I just had a slightly ominous dream. But the content is bothering me.”

I made up the contents of the dream on the spot.

“It was a dream where someone told me they would visit me soon, but I couldn’t recognize who that person was. Strangely, I felt uneasy after waking up.”

There were no symbolic elements, and it was practically a nonsense dream, yet Nasir listened with a very serious expression.

“…Fabio, did you hear who the being that gave you the Blessing was?”

“No, they only advised me that ignorance would protect me.”

Nasir let out a short groan.

“In that case, it would be better not to ask further.”

‘Is he really not going to ask more?’

Then again, considering what I’ve been through, perhaps in the Dark Realm, not being curious about things one shouldn’t know is what being a professional is all about.

“So, what is your schedule for today?”

“In the afternoons, I usually volunteer at the orphanage to play with the children.”

“You do wonderful work. Do you like children?”

‘If I say I don’t, he’ll probably ask why I bother volunteering at an orphanage.’

“I like them very much. Is there any being as pure as a child?”

Nasir cleared his throat a few times and began to brag about how well he got along with children.

“…I’m particularly confident in my Health. After playing with them until they’re exhausted, you wouldn’t believe how quietly they all fall asleep.”

‘Wow, if I play like that for one day and then ask him to do that for me from then on, I’m screwed.’

Anyway, I’m damn jealous of that Health.

It’s probably at least in the triple digits, right?

‘Fabio really did nothing but work in the fields all day during his serf days….’

Fabio’s Health was 45, which was higher than the average of 30 for the lowest-grade Units, but it was far from triple digits.

‘Well, if labor increased Health, then grandfathers and grandmothers who farm all day would be healthier than people in their twenties.’

There’s no end to it if you start envying innate traits.

It’s not like I can swap bodies.

I felt bad for Nasir, who was looking forward to playing with the children, but I didn’t intend to go near the orphanage for the time being.

‘That’s the place where the probability of meeting the Distorted One’s player is the highest.’

“That’s a shame. I was actually going to say that I don’t think I can volunteer today.”

“…Do you have another urgent schedule?”

“No, I’m just worried that the children might get caught up in something.”

“Then….”

“Nasir, could you tell Bishop Andrea that I won’t be able to volunteer for a while? Perhaps use a reason like I have to be investigated as a witness for some incident.”

“…Bishop Andrea?”

“Do you know who he is?”

“How could I not?”

Just by looking at his souring expression, I could tell they had a shitty relationship.

‘Andrea probably started the provocation first.’

There was no way that old fossil would think highly of an Inquisitor from a pagan background.

Nasir remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“…Why don’t you just say you don’t want to do it anymore and quit?”

“Is it that awkward?”

“Rather than awkward, he’s a nuisance. If you use an excuse like that, he’ll try to find out exactly what incident you’re involved in, how long the investigation will last, and what Miracles were used during the process.”

“Can a Bishop find out those things?”

“While the content of the interrogation itself is secret, the procedure is not. A Bishop of the Church of Order has the authority to monitor the interrogation process to ensure that torture or mind-breaking Miracles are not used.”

‘That’s a setting I’ve never heard of.’

I thought everyone trembled in fear when a Heretic Inquisitor appeared?

A Bishop can interfere with an Inquisitor?

‘Then when did the Inquisitors gain absolute authority?’

“Did those things happen often in the Inquisition?”

“…The cause and effect are reversed. Because there were frequent cases of people reporting others as heretics while knowing they weren’t, the authority to monitor the interrogation process was granted to Bishops to prevent such things. Even so, when reports of heresy for the purpose of retaliation didn’t decrease, the Inquisition was created so that just anyone couldn’t interrogate heretics.”

Nasir’s explanation was interesting.

Since they were originally hostile nations, they couldn’t possibly harmonize overnight just because they came under one empire.

War didn’t break out because Order forbade civil war, but fighting between hostile factions continued.

Among them, the most frequent weapon of attack was reporting the opponent as a heretic.

“It is said that during the height of the wars, people abused the Bishop’s authority to execute heretics and apostates to first frame their political rivals as heretics.”

“Is that even allowed?”

“Of course, a Bishop who delivers such a biased judgment is inevitably punished. But the idea is to execute as many enemies as possible before that moment arrives.”

‘What a total mess.’

“The reason Casimir became the first Commander is also because she was the person with the fewest conflicting interests.”

After hearing Nasir’s explanation, the strange situation of a pagan-born person serving as a Heretic Inquisitor made sense.

‘So the Inquisition was originally created to reduce heresy interrogations.’

It was only natural that Nasir didn’t seem like a fanatic.

The primary duty of a Heretic Inquisitor was to go and check when someone reported, “I think this guy is a heretic,” and then dismiss it by saying, “Doesn’t look like it to me.”

‘Of course, if they are proven to be a real heretic, it’s still the stake.’

Every time I encountered evidence that the Dark Realm wasn’t as primitive as I thought, I wondered how an apocalyptic situation like ‘Die Heretic!’ ever happened.

“Then what should I do? If I just say I want to quit, I think he’ll assume I’m hiding another reason.”

If a diligent part-timer who always showed up an hour early and did tasks they weren’t even asked to do suddenly disappeared, saying they just hate working, wouldn’t the boss think something had happened that required reporting to the police rather than just being angry?

If I didn’t provide a proper reason, Andrea would interpret it as me waving a carrot, saying, ‘I’ve run into a problem, so help me!’

‘Working too hard on my reputation has become a problem.’

Nasir pondered for a moment, then spoke with a smirk.

“If you protest by citing regulations, I can do the same.”

* * *

“…You said you came to do volunteer work?”

Andrea took off the magnifying glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

“What did you say your name was?”

“I am Ansberto.”

“…Sigh.”

It was a sigh of utter disbelief.

I pretended to know nothing, acting flustered and glancing at Andrea.

Nasir’s plan was simple.

‘The head of an organization is obligated to cooperate with the secret investigation of a Heretic Inquisitor.’

Therefore, if Nasir insisted that he was conducting an investigation while hiding his identity, Andrea could not interfere.

The subject of that investigation was ‘Fabio’.

It is forbidden to inform the subject of a secret investigation that they are currently being investigated.

“What is your purpose for volunteering?”

“I like children.”

“…Is that truly all?”

“Should there be another purpose besides that?”

Andrea pressed firmly on his wrinkled brow.

“Fabio, could you step outside for a moment?”

I stepped out the door without a word.

Since I had already reported to Casimir in writing before coming, if Andrea protested to the Inquisition, Casimir would give a suitable answer.

‘Even if he’s displeased, there’s not much he can do.’

Andrea doesn’t know that he himself is a heretic.

He believes the purple snake is the holy water of Order, and he thinks the Divine Power of Distortion is a power granted by Order.

Therefore, the player must have ordered Andrea never to use the power of the Othergod in front of a Heretic Inquisitor.

‘Because the moment it’s discovered that Andrea is a Vassal of the Distorted One, it’s game over.’

In this situation, if I were the player, the moment I heard the report, I would instruct Andrea to send both ‘Fabio’ and the Inquisitor out of the orphanage.

It would be very troublesome if the Inquisitor happened to wander around the orphanage and find a clue about the Distorted One.

‘And he’d probably soothe Andrea by saying something like, “I’ll keep an eye on Fabio myself.”’

If there’s one thing to worry about, it’s that Nasir, as an Inquisitor, might actually find something strange about Andrea….

‘…What if things escalate and Andrea ends up facing a heresy trial?’

Even so, I wouldn’t be the one in danger.

In fact, I’d be safer.

If a Bishop-level Unit is about to be wiped out, they won’t have the leisure to care about a former serf.

‘But Adelaide might be put in danger.’

If Andrea were arrested by the Inquisitor, the player would likely cut the tail to avoid being traced back.

Adelaide, the point of contact, would completely disappear in that process.

Since I don’t know what a missing Adelaide would go through, I’d prefer to maintain the status quo if possible….

‘Anyway, this is taking longer than I thought.’

Are they having an argument inside?

I pressed my ear to the door, but perhaps because the Blessing of Soundproofing was active, I couldn’t even hear a rustling sound.

‘…Let’s just wait.’

But even after waiting for nearly 20 minutes, no one came out.

I began to feel a bit anxious.

‘Can’t Nasir just ignore a verbal spat and come out?’

Did Andrea throw an insult so foul that he couldn’t just ignore it?

‘Even if he couldn’t take it and threw a punch, six rounds would have ended by now.’

Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

Eventually, unable to hold back, I opened the door.

“Andrea, how much lon—”

I couldn’t finish my question.

Because neither Nasir nor Andrea was inside the office.

‘Where did they go?’

Cold sweat broke out from the bewilderment.

I looked around, but there were no other exits in the office.

“Andrea?”

The moment I took a step into the office.

Slam!

The door closed behind me with a loud noise.

‘Fuck!’

I fucking hate this kind of thing!

I fucking hate horror movies!

Praying that this wasn’t some old horror movie cliché, I pushed the door, but it didn’t budge an inch, as if mocking me.

‘Fuck….’

What the hell is happening right now?

What on earth happened here?

The moment I stepped out, did Andrea immediately use the Divine Power of the Distorted One, and Nasir fought back, thinking, ‘What the fuck, this guy’s a heretic?’

‘Then where is Nasir?’

At that moment, there was a clicking sound at the door.

Someone from the outside was trying to open the door.

Reflexively, I gripped the Sacred Relic inside my clothes.

“…Fabio. I told you to wait outside.”

The one who opened the door was Andrea.

Beyond the door, I saw not the hallway where I had been standing until a moment ago, but stairs leading downward.

“I suppose I made you wait too long.”

There wasn’t a hint of reproach in his tone.

That actually made it more creepy.

“Andrea…. Where are you coming from right now?”

“I stopped by the underground archive for a moment.”

“The person who came with me….”

“After I explained the rules to be followed while volunteering, he suddenly lost interest and said he would go back.”

‘Fuck, if you’re going to lie, at least put some effort into it!’

Chapter 121